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W. J. READ. Bed-Spring,

No, 197,405. Patented Nov. 20,1877.

WATERMAN J. READ, or 'MOHAWK, NEW YORK, Assir'e'non on A PART on HISRIGHT To BYRON A. STONE HENRY a). .ALExAnnnn, on SAME PLACE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 197,405, dated November20, 1877; application filed October 18, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WATERMAN J. READ, of Mohawk, in the county ofHerkimer and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Spiral Springs forBed- Bottoms and upholstering purposesgenerally; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof,

which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to springs of the class used in bed-couch and chairbottoms, and for upholstering purposes generally; and it consists in animproved construction and arrangement of parts, substantially ashereinafter more fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved spring.Fig.2 is a similar view, showing a modification in the manner of unitingthe two ends of the coils. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the bottompart, partly in section. Fig. 4 is an end view, these two last figuresshowing the method of securing the spring to the slat; and Fig. 5 is abottom plan.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

To make my improved spring, I take a piece of wire of suitable lengthand bend or double it in the middle, as shown at a. Next, each end isbent at a right angle, forming a step or shoulder, 12 b, on each side ofthe loop a, after which each end is coiled, one of the coils, A, lyingbetween the parts or rounds of the other coil B, and both coils windingthe same way or tending in the, same direction.

In this manner it will be seen that two distinct and separate coils areformed, A and B, the ends of which may be united either, as shown inFig. 1, by attaching, in any suitable manner, the end of each coil tothe side of the topmost round of the other coil, or the ends of eachcoil may be bent and twisted, or otherwise secured in the middle, asrepresented in Fig. 2.

I prefer to use this last method of uniting the ends of the respectivecoils A and B rests, as the staple 0 thus formed will fit intoperforations made in the upper slats or springslats, whereas. thefiat-topped double spring represented in Fig. 1 is more suitable. forchair-bottoms and upholsterin g purposes generally. I

The manner of securing the springs to the bottom slats of a bed or couchwill readily be understood by reference to Figs. 3 and 4. The loop a isinserted into a slot, d, in the slat or couch-bottom, these slots beingarranged at a suitable distance from each other. A key or wedge, G, isthen inserted through the loop under the slat, which prevents the springfrom being displaced or tipped over.

Among the advantages which result from my improvement are the following:First, my

improved double-coiled spring is self-sustaining to a much greaterextent than a singlecoil spring, inasmuch as, the coils winding in thesame direction, and the end of each securely fastened to theoneopposite, the two coils Aand B mutually support each other laterally,thereby maintaining the equilibrium of the spring under pressure;second, the bearing-surface of my improved spring being level, and notslanting, as a single-coil spring, itforms a better sup- .port for thesuperincumbent weight, and, be-

sides, precludes any tendency to twist or turn sidewise and downward,which invariably results from the slant or spiral form of the uppermostcoil or roundin a single-coil spiral spring; third, springs constructedin this manner can be produced at less cost than the single-coil springsordinarily in use, inasmuch as a smaller size of wire is required for myimproved doublecoil spring than for a single-coil spring of equalcapacity, and having a corresponding number of coils, because the coilsmutually support and sustain each other.

It follows that the weight ofthe springs (an important item in thebetter classes of bedbottoms and furniture) is materially decreased, andthe cost of transportation lessened.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United Statesa i 1. A double-coiled spiral springmade from one piece of wire bent at the middle, and twisting each end toform two coils, A and B, the rounds of one coil, A, lying between therounds of the other coil, B, and both coils tending in the samedirection, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

2. A double-coiled spiral spring made from one piece of Wire bent at themiddle to form the loop a and shouders b b, and then twisting each endto form two coils, A and B, the

rounds of one of the coils, A, lying between WATERMAN J. READ.

Witnesses AUGUST PETERsoHN, WM. BAGGER.

